


Seven Moments About Love and Honesty

by cowboylakay



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Coming Out, Established Relationship, M/M, Secret Relationship, i’ve never written anything like this before honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28691610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cowboylakay/pseuds/cowboylakay
Summary: Jeff and Abed have been together for a few months. They do a pretty good job at hiding it, but after a few accidental hints, they find out how observant the group can be.
Relationships: Abed Nadir/Jeff Winger
Comments: 4
Kudos: 62





	Seven Moments About Love and Honesty

**Author's Note:**

> i’ll preface with a warning that i’ve never written and posted this kind of fic before because i feel i’m not too good at it. however the concept intrigued me so much that i had to do my own little spin on it. hope yall enjoy.

_** one. ** _

Troy isn’t the observant type.

He knows this, doesn’t try to convince himself otherwise and accepts the facts. Some of Abed’s traits have rubbed off on him, like a sense of comfort in being a geek (while still being very manly, of course) and camaraderie in being two neurodiverse men in college, but his talent for observation and analysis has yet to affect Troy.

Because of that, he’s not sure what to make of what he’s seeing, which is Jeff sitting on the couch in the study room while on his phone with Abed on the other end of the couch, legs outstretched and placed on top of Jeff’s lap. He wonders when Jeff had gotten so comfortable with Abed to allow this kind of casual touch, and wonders if maybe he’s hallucinating and actually looking at Britta rather than Abed.

Troy looks at them more, wondering if he should say something, but is beaten to the chase by Abed himself, who glances away from the screen and breaks out into a smile when he sees Troy, taking the remote and pausing the movie. Jeff looks at Abed for a second in question, before he’s glancing towards Troy.

Troy expects a reaction. Instead, Jeff waves at him with a small smile just as Abed says, “Troy! Come check this out.”

Jeff scoots over slightly to make space for Troy in the middle, still looking at his phone, as Abed removes his legs from Jeff’s lap and sits properly. Troy looks at Jeff, then Abed, and decides that if they’re not gonna talk about it, he won’t either.

_** two. ** _

When Britta walked into the library and saw Jeff kiss Abed on the forehead, she’d honestly thought it was for a bit.

She didn’t mean to see them. They had been tucked away in a corner and talking quietly and seriously about something she couldn’t hear, and okay, maybe she was a _little_ curious about what they could be talking about, so she hovered somewhere close by to listen in.

“I still don’t think that’s true,” Abed says, and she thinks she might have dropped in on something spicy, so she strains a little further to hear them from two aisles down. Jeff quietly snorts.

“Well, I think it’s pretty obvious she’s insecure about what she’s eating. I would know,” Jeff replies, “You should talk to her. She still values your opinion, you know?”

“You don’t even know her,” Abed says, matter-of-fact rather than accusatory. Britta inches closer, their voices having gone lower.

“Yeah, well, I know you still care about her and she probably still cares about you. Bottom line.” Jeff moves then, and Britta chooses that moment to decide that nothing interesting is going on, taking the book she’d borrowed with her as she moved to pass them.

Then, Jeff does the unthinkable: he places a hand on Abed’s shoulder, who typically hates contact, but allows and even relaxes at Jeff’s touch now, and plants a kiss on his forehead. Abed smiles sweetly, an expression Britta’s never seen on his face before, but one that warms her heart until the ice cold bucket of water that is realisation drops on her, then she’s standing there gawking. Abed and Jeff still don’t notice her as they get going, still talking and walking in the opposite direction of where Britta came from.

“What,” Britta says to herself, almost dropping her book, “the hell?”

_** three. ** _

Naturally, Britta tells Annie and Shirley when she sees them hours later. They both laugh it off, not believing her even as she pouts and says it’s the truth, and they go about their days like normal.

Annie’s talking to Jeff about their finals in a few weeks, half venting her anxieties about getting a good grade and half berating Jeff for only wanting a passing grade. Abed enters the study room right after Jeff tells her, “Annie, it’s still just a grade at the end of the day. No one’s holding you at gunpoint to get a perfect score.”

“Unless someone is, in which case Annie can’t tell us verbally so she has to resort to trying to be as conspicuous as possible to get everyone to go along with their wishes. They’ll think I’m onto them so I’ll be sent a warning in the form of a nonlethal but shocking message,” Abed says seriously, passing by Jeff to get to his seat. Annie rolls her eyes, almost wishing it was true so it could convince Jeff to work harder.

When Jeff doesn’t say anything, she looks at him in confusion and is met with even more confusion. Jeff is looking at Abed with the fondest, softest smile on his face, and Abed is looking at him (actually looking at him and maintaining eye contact, which she knew he was uncomfortable with) with the same expression, if more subtle. Annie feels out of the loop.

“Uh, guys?” Annie asks, and almost regrets it from the way they look at each other and look at her as if they’d forgotten she was here. She feels scrutinised, somehow. “What was that about?”

“What was what?” Abed asks, nonchalant as if he and Jeff didn’t have a moment. Jeff takes out his phone and starts typing, equally as unbothered as Abed.

Annie looks back and forth between them, before looking back down at her papers. _Okay, weird..._

_** four. ** _

They’re all having lunch in the cafeteria on a decent Tuesday afternoon when Jeff gets a call.

“Hold on, I’ll be back in a second,” Jeff says, scooting out of his part of the bench and taking his phone out of his pocket. Abed looks at him weirdly, which Troy, Britta, and Annie pick up on, before shrugging and continue to eat.

“So...” Annie says, glancing at everyone for a moment before looking at Abed. “What’s up with you two?”

Abed looks at her in question, gesturing at him and Troy. “Us? Well, we’re going to be watching _Kickpuncher 2: Code Name Punch Kicker_ and—”

“I don’t think she means us, Abed,” Troy interrupts, holding out a hand to stop Abed. Abed looks at him. “I think she means you and Jeff.”

“Oh,” Abed says, not entirely expecting that. “We’re hanging out a lot.” He punctuates this with reaching over to Jeff’s plate and taking his fries. Everyone watches the action with wide eyes, except for Pierce, who continues eating. “I watch movies at his place sometimes, and sometimes he watches movies at my place.”

“Nothing else?” Britta pries, suspicious. Abed shakes his head and eats his stolen fries, followed by a sip from his drink.

Jeff comes back a little after that, sliding back into his seat and looking around at everyone. “What’d I miss?” He asks, before looking down at his plate. “Hey, where are my fries?”

“Abed took them,” Shirley says, watching Jeff closely. Everyone, even Pierce, knows Jeff isn’t the most social eater, and that he prefers to eat at his own pace and at his own comfort. Still, that doesn’t stop him from disliking when people take his food, even if more than half the time he doesn’t finish it.

Abed eats a fry, focused on his food. Jeff shrugs, continuing to eat his sandwich-without-bread-or-meat with a fork. No one says anything for a long while until Pierce looks over at Jeff’s plate and says, “Are you going to eat that?” And taking the slices of bread without waiting for an answer.

_** five. ** _

Everyone is sitting quietly in the study room, with the exception of Jeff and Abed. Everyone just looks at each other, until Troy puts his hands on the table.

“Okay, are we talking about this?” Troy asks, looking at everyone. They all look down at the table, except for Pierce, who looks at Troy in confusion. Britta bites her lip as she fiddles with her bag strap.

“I think we should,” Shirley says, a concerned look on her face. “There’s something up with Jeff and Abed. They’re both acting... strange and unlike themselves.”

Annie and Britta nod in agreement as Troy rubs his chin. “The fact they’re not here yet is something else too,” He says. Jeff isn’t always very punctual, and Abed tends to get distracted with side adventures before he gets to the study room, but the both of them still not being here, along with how weird they’ve been for the past few months, makes them a little over suspect.

“Gay,” Pierce says, like he’s had an epiphany. Everyone ignores him.

“What do you think they’re hiding from us?” Annie asks, a sort of crestfallen look on her face. No one knows what to say about that.

Then, Jeff and Abed are entering the study room, talking to each other almost animatedly and only cutting themselves short when they see that everyone’s already there. Abed points at Jeff and says, “This isn’t over.”

Jeff looks smug about something and holds the look until he sits down. Abed looks as if he was questioning things. Everyone looks confused.

“You guys don’t usually come in together,” Britta mutters, narrowing her eyes at Jeff. He reads the room and looks confused at all the equally confused stares.

“Because Abed doesn’t usually need a ride,” Jeff says, and Pierce looks like he’s about to say something probably homophobic when the Dean comes in with another awful costume and a rapid-fire speech about the meaning of Greendale’s unity and diversity.

Later, when they’re all packing up and getting ready to leave, everyone watches as Troy and Abed begin to leave and Jeff moves to leave through the other exit.

“Abed, see you later?” Jeff asks, ignoring Annie and Britta’s stares.

Abed nods with a small smile, which Jeff returns, then he leaves. Abed and Troy leave together, with the latter looking like he’s asking Abed a very serious question and receiving a shocking answer.

_** +one. ** _

Annie is the one who cracks first.

“Okay, I’ve had enough of this!” Annie half-shouts in the silence, while everyone is busy doing their own thing. She stands up, slams her hands down, and points at Jeff and Abed. “What is going on with you two?!”

Jeff looks surprised, a brow raising as he meets her gaze. Abed glances at him for a moment before looking at Annie with a frown on his face. Britta, Shirley, and Troy are trying not to look at her, while Pierce watches them with mild interest.

“What do you mean, Annie?” Jeff asks, crossing his arms. Annie throws her hands up and gestures wildly between them.

“You two! You’re both acting— _weird!_ I saw you laughing at something Abed said while you were holding his hand!” She says, and it seems to be the droplet that bursts the dam.

“Yeah, I saw Jeff kiss Abed’s forehead one time in the library,” Britta says, accusatory.

“I saw them both leave the men’s room together,” Shirley says, sounding scandalised, “Everyone knows men don’t go into bathrooms in groups!”

They look at Troy, who keeps his gaze down at his hands. “Troy?” Annie asks, expecting him to say something, but Troy just makes a zipper motion with his hand and mouth. Annie groans exasperatedly. “Could you just— tell us? What’s going on with you two?”

Abed looks at Jeff, a brow raised. Jeff meets his gaze, biting his lip and rubbing his chin with his hand, before sighing and nodding. He meets everyone’s eyes, inhaling and exhaling.

“I’m bisexual,” Jeff begins, and cuts Pierce off before he can start, “No, Pierce, that _doesn’t_ mean gay. I mean, I am, kind of, because I’m into men and women and others, but I’m about as straight as I am gay, which is to say... I’m not,” He says, waiting for someone to say something. When no one says anything, he continues, “Abed and I are dating. He’s my boyfriend and I’m his.”

Shocked gasps erupt from the women as Troy nods sagely. “I’m also bisexual,” Abed supplies, hands clasped together but fingers tugging each other.

“Everyone gets _one_ question and then we are never going to bring this up again,” Jeff says, and almost everyone groans. “Starting with you, Annie.”

“Why did you hide this from us? Don’t you trust us?” Annie asks almost instantly, a sad look on her face. She’s making the Disney eyes that make Jeff feel guilty, even as he tries to steel himself.

“It... wasn’t planned,” He says, finding it harder to explain to the others than to Abed. He looks at him for help, to which Abed nods.

“We didn’t tell anyone because Jeff wasn’t ready to come out yet,” Abed says, straightforward as ever. “It’s not because he doesn’t trust you. It’s because he doesn’t want people to think any different of him. I didn’t tell anyone because he asked me not to, and I only told Troy because I asked him if I could so I could explain why I was spending so much time with him.” Abed clicks his pen from inside his bag. “We’re telling you now.”

Everyone nods at that, looking less put-upon and more just surprised. Jeff looks relieved and nods at the explanation. “Britta?”

“How long have you guys been together?” She asks, voice softer now and lacking the teasing quality. She sounds genuinely interested.

“Going on about... four months now?” Jeff says, counting in his head. “Since I moved into my new place, Abed helped me move my stuff and things kinda just... kept going from there.”

Annie and Shirley coo at him, while Britta looks touched. Jeff feels himself smile a little even if he’s not too comfortable with that kind of attention, but his nerves are settled slightly when Abed looks at him with a small, private smile.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see it before,” Britta tells them, looking between Jeff and Abed. “You two totally look like you’re dating. The way you guys look at each other is so obvious.”

“To be fair, we aren’t trying to hide it now. We hid it a lot more before this,” Abed says, looking away from Jeff as his cheeks grow a little hot. “Not successfully, but most stuff we kept under wraps.”

“And sheets,” Jeff adds, causing everyone to groan. He grins as Abed rolls his eyes at him playfully. “Hey, I can make those jokes now, so I will,” He says, before looking at Shirley. “Shirley?”

“First, I’d like to say that I’m happy you told us,” She says, and part of Jeff thinks this is where the bad questions come in, with Shirley being a devout Christian. Instead, she says, “I hope you don’t mean it when you say we’re never talking about it again. Anyways, my question is, is there anything we should... call you two?”

She asks so sincerely that Jeff finds it hard to think she means it with malice. “No, not really. I mean, Abed’s my boyfriend, but we’re honestly still just... us. Nothing much has changed, except for the fact that we’re dating.”

“We’re still just Abed and Jeff,” Abed remarks, and Jeff grins again at those words. “Damn it,” He says, looking put upon. “It doesn’t sound as right.”

“Not to say I told you so, but I told you so,” Jeff tells him, uncrossing his arms and putting them on the armrests of his chair.

“You two are so cute,” Annie coos while sporting a different type of Disney eyes. Jeff rolls his eyes this time, even if it makes him a little giddy on the inside.

“Troy?” He asks, even though they’ve already discussed everything necessary about he and Abed’s relationship. It had been a long night of conversation and movies that ended in Troy sleeping on Jeff’s comfortable couch and Jeff himself being tucked under Abed’s chin on the bed. The Saturday morning after consisted of pancakes, orange juice, a bit more talking, and Jeff driving both of them back to Abed’s dorm room to hang out.

“Uh, I don’t know, honestly,” Troy mutters, trying to think of what to ask. He snaps his fingers then, “Does that mean I get to come over anytime?”

“Why would that mean you could come over anytime?” Jeff questions, despite already knowing his answer.

“‘Cuz Abed will probably be there and your place is bigger and your TV is huge.”

“Of course,” Abed answers for them, causing Troy to grin. They do their special handshake, while Jeff sighs and shakes his head with a smile.

“You are _whipped,”_ Britta whispers to him.

“Shut up,” He replies, before looking at Pierce. He’d been uncharacteristically quiet this whole time and hadn’t said anything homophobic since they started, and it’s been cause for suspicion. “Pierce?”

Pierce looks at him for awhile, long enough that Jeff thinks he’s fucking with him, before asking, “Who does the—”

Everyone groans and tells Pierce to shut up.

_** bonus. ** _

“So,” Abed says after, when they’re standing outside by Jeff’s car. His voice is gentle, sweet in a way that’s only reserved for Jeff. “Everyone knows now.”

Jeff smiles, taking his hand. “They do. Any regrets?”

“None whatsoever,” Abed tells him, smiling. They stand shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand. 

“Wanna go fishing?” Jeff asks, adding a bit of a southern twang to his voice. Abed laughs out loud, a pretty sound to Jeff’s ears.

“Old Brokeback got us good,” Abed quotes in the same drawl, despite the context being vastly different, kissing him on the cheek. “My place is closer than yours. Come on.”

They get in the car and drive away, feeling good about themselves.

**Author's Note:**

> i think that if jeff was canonically attracted to men, he’d love brokeback mountain because he’s a queer love and hurt/no comfort kinda guy. also because i’ve been thinking about jack and ennis for awhile now. maybe one day i’ll work on a brokeback au for these two.
> 
> i’m [lakay](https://cowboylakay.tumblr.com/) on tumblr


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